Wednesday, 30 June 2010

This is a photo of Tara, our Education Officer/Senior Animal Keeper with 'Colin' who you may already know is the abandoned Kookaburra that we're hand-rearing. The image was kindly sent through to us by our most recent 'Keeper-for-a-Day', Juliet Burden. It shows just how Colin has grown - and even though he makes a lot of grumpy growley noises, we think he secretly quite enjoys the attention and interaction with his devoted Keepers - the Animal Care Team. Colin is now feeding independently on meal-worms and super marios - and is given help by the Keepers to eat mincemeat balls and small pieces of chicken. We've recently attached leather straps known as jesses to Colin's legs in anticipation of his first flying lessons - he still needs to grow tail feathers so he's not quite ready to be airborne yet! Watch this space!!

Our first litter of Harvest Mice are now approximately four weeks old. As can be seen from this image taken earlier this morning the scurrying, cute-faced youngsters are growing rapidly! I've just finished setting up 2 new tanks - as new homes for the parent mice - they'll be moved away from the juveniles in the next week or so to ensure there's no interbreeding. The youngsters will then be separated out into same-sex groups.

Our Chilean Flamingos have been performing their ritual nesting and mating ceremonies over the past couple of weeks - and much to the delight of the Animal Care Team and the visiting public the first eggs have been sighted. This image shows intertwined Chileans surrounding one egg - lying perched on top of the dried mud heap 'nest' where these beautiful, rare and remarkable birds will hopefully raise a few more of their chicks this summer.

The Park grounds are looking absolutely wonderful - this time of year brings blue skies, sunshine and beautiful summer blooms everywhere! I took a couple of photos of the waterfall near the entrance earlier today - giving a taste of the beauty that abounds. All we need now are some gentle night-time showers to keep the grass a lush green!

Tara, Education Officer, took Juliet under her wing and gave Juliet the chance to experience some of the many delights of being an Animal Keeper including the feeding of penguin chicks, getting mobbed by Wallabies and even feeding 'Colin' our Kookaburra chick that we are hand rearing. If you remember seeing Colin our Kook a few weeks ago on our blog, then you may not recognise him now as he no longer looks like a prehistoric bird but most definitely a Kookaburra!

Judging by the very kind letter Juliet sent to us shortly after her experience as a Keeper, I think she thoroughly enjoyed her day here at Seaview....

'Thank you all very much for a lovely day at the park yesterday as 'Keeper for day', I had a great time and can't believe it went so quickly! Everyone made me feel so welcome and I really enjoyed being hands -on with the animals. Thank you especially to Tara for letting me follow her around all day and get so involved.As always, the park is a lovely day out, thank you all again'If you would like the chance to be a 'Keeper for a day' then please visit our website for further details.

Sorry girls I'm afraid we haven't recruited a new stud Animal Keeper but the ladies of our Bennett's Wallaby mob will be happy as we introduced a new Male stud...and my what a stud! Craig, Head Keeper went to collect the Male Wallaby from Woburn Safari Park in Milton Keynes last week expecting a raging wild Wallaby, but we were all pleasantly surprised when he returned with a friendly, docile and very handsome stud!

As you have probably seen, we have quite a few Wallabies at the park and numbers continue to increase each year. This year we are happy to welcome 5 new joey's to the mob, 3 of which are Albino, caused by a rare recessive gene. Now we have a stud male with some fresh blood we are hoping that he will waste no time and by next spring have even more... and hopefully they will take after their father's good looks!

A note of thanks to you and Jules for kindly showing me around yesterday. I must say as a long time customer I have always enjoyed my visits and it was a privilege to be given "the inside track" on Wednesday.

We will give you every help we can if you decide to apply for a Queen's Award for Enterprise and will stay in touch through Gillian as you develop plans for your "40th". Again, thanks, as ever Martin White (Major General M S White CB CBE JP HM Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle Of Wight)

Saturday, 19 June 2010

On June 10th we visited your wildlife centre and may I say from the moment we arrived at the car park until we left 4 hours later, the whole experience was fantastic.

The whole centre was superb, the layout, the animals, the freedom of the birds. The tropical house is superb.

Another big plus too was the staff, so polite, helpful and informative, a real credit to the centre. I know that one should not single out any particular member of staff but I feel that the rule should be broken with a special mention for a lady in the shop. Sally, we first met her when we arrived at 10am. She was feeding the ducks, she made us very welcome, we then met her again in the shop where she looked after us so well.

On closing I would ask you to pass on our thanks to her.

Lastly may I say that I have travelled many parts of the world visiting many such centres and I must say that your centre is up there with the best.

Many, many thanks, keep up the fantastic work you and your staff are doing, and I hope to visit again in the near future.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. J. Alders,Bournemouth, Dorset.

Dear Sir/Madam, 11th June, 2010

I really enjoyed my visit to Seaview Wildlife and really enjoyed looking at the animals.

I loved the performances, and feeding the animals. My two favourite things were the Wallabies and the Tropical House.

The most beautiful animals were the white peacocks. I hope I can go again someday, thank you for a wonderful visit.

It's not the most dignified position to be in but shearing is completely necessary during the warmer months of the year as not only does it get very hot under all that wool but it's also important that they actually absorb some Vitamin D from the sunshine.

This is the first shear that our Alpacas have had to endure since arriving at the park in March and unfortunately it won't be the last! Due to the nature of their fibrous woolly coats its very easy for foreign objects to attach themselves and 'hang on' especially when they love to roll around on the grass to supposedly 'brush off' or cool down. Therefore shearing needs to take place at least once a year as well as a quick trim of their toenails and teeth!The good news is their beautiful woolly jumpers don't go to waste and in fact Alpacas are a domesticated species from South America (Andes, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador) where their fibrous wool is used for making knitted and woven items such as blankets, hats, scarves, ponchos and lots more!

This photo gives some idea just how much wool they produce and for a fair price too! The only problem is it doesn't look like Augustus recognises his friend, little does he know that he's next!!

A big thank you to you both for a wonderful visit. We both enjoyed it and a very nice lunch. It is a super place to go and I have emailed the Chairman of the IW National Autistic Society and told her this. Noticed the pic on the web site and Dippy is now one of our best friends!

Thanks again and look forward to seeing you both again in the not too distant future. If we can help at all with anything let me know and let us know what you are planning for the anniversary.

Thanks again and a big hug to Willaby the Wallaby and Dippy.

GillianDeputy Clerk to the Lieutenancy,Isle Of Wight Council,County Hall,Newport,Isle Of Wight.

Wednesday, 16 June 2010

We were very proud to welcome the Lord Lieutenant, Mr Martin White and his Deputy Clerk, Gillian Phoenix to the Park today. We spent 2 and a half hours in the Park together, meeting a number of animals, discussing the history and growth of the Park and enjoying the beautiful summer weather. After enjoying a delicious crab sandwich on the Tortoiseshell Bay Cafe patio, overlooking the Solent, the Lord Lieutenant's visit culminated in a meeting with Dippy the Penguin!

We are extremely honoured that the Lord Lieutenant has suggested we apply, with his assistance, for the 2011 Queen's Award. The Lord Lieutenant believes that Seaview Wildlife Encounter is a unique and exciting business enterprise that, over the last 39 years, has grown to represent excellence in both tourism and wildlife on the Island. It may well be time to be recognised on a National level as one of the Isle of Wight's gems - historically slightly hidden from the mainstream of attractions, yet a vital and ever-increasing part of the magic that makes up this special place called the Isle of Wight.

As regular followers of our Blog may remember we introduced Harvest Mice as a new exhibit in early May this year. We built 2 enclosures and placed one pair into each. Having provided them with surroundings that we hoped they would find beautiful and as natural as possible we looked forward to the first signs of breeding activity.

Well, it seems our home-design skills have been appreciated - both pairs have produced their first litters within a day or two of each other! The first were sighted yesterday in the left enclosure and then low and behold more scampering and foraging of these tiny creatures was identified this morning!

Our Harvest Mice built their nests from hay inside the nesting boxes we provided for them. The baby mice were born pink after a gestation of between 18 - 21 days. They ventured out of the nest to start exploring at approximately 10 -12 days of age. Once the youngsters are approximately 8 weeks old they'll be fully weaned and independent. it's at that point that we'll move them into a 'nursery enclosure' where they'll stay for 3 - 4 weeks before being housed into same-sex groups in order for us to control indiscriminate breeding.

Our longer-term plan:

Once we have a good stock of Harvest Mice we would ideally like to liaise with some of the mammalian experts at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Trust and at Chester Zoo to discuss the viability of a release programme either locally on the Island (where they are now apparently extinct) or further afield on the mainland.

Tuesday, 15 June 2010

Dear Birdlife Advisor,I am so pleased I was able to find your address, as I need some advice regarding a Pelican, I do so hope you can help. For some 3 weeks we here at the Lodge, have had a daily visit from a large Pelican, and initially the bird was a joy to see.The Pelican has now decided to "move in" with our resident flock of chickens. We also keep Ducks.The bird, (very large), eats more corn than our 15 Chicks would collectively consume on a daily basis.Although the Pelican is a joy to see, he, (or she), is a voracious eater. The Bird is presumably, off course, as we are some 5 miles from the nearest coastline. Some 5 miles nor-nor east from Topsham Bay. Having lost one's Husband some years ago, the task of identification of these visiting birds falls to me, and I am less proficient than my late husband Hubert.Hubert was most accomplished in bird identification.Entering my 99th year, one has enough difficulty identifying one's own dogs sometimes, I have four. Never mind those bally birds.

Huggins the Gardener, himself aged, has given his opinion that our bird maybe a Heron of some sort. I have told him he is an old fool. So far no Chickens have been taken, and our Duck population remains stable, although we have lost one Quail.

Could your good company give advice to relocate our wayward Pelican?I do hope you can help with some good advice.

We had a visit today from Will Caddy (picture editor) and James Piercy (news editor) from M&Y News in Southsea. The guys had heard about our albino Wallaby Joeys - that they were born to Brown Bennett Wallaby females - and were keen to get some pics. However, once here at Seaview Wildlife the two editors not only spent time capturing the Wallabies on film, but got side-tracked on an unexpected meeting with Dippy the Penguin..

It was great fun, I've been asked not to Blog any of my own images of the event just yet so you'll just have to watch this space for the next couple of days before I can release what went on ........ Thanks Will and James for a great fun couple of hours! We hope you got the shots you were looking for and that the National (and perhaps International?) news media will pick up on this fun, innovative story!!

Monday, 14 June 2010

Sustainable development is critical in the world today. We at Seaview Wildlife Encounter are embracing the opportunity to contribute towards the conservation and protection of the natural environment. The Park has resolved to improve its environmental practices.During the past few months we have been sourcing more foodstuffs to sustainably support our local economy i.e. Velvet crabs are now sustainably sourced from local waters (supplied by a local fishmonger) as a food item for our Otters. Sprats (the main feed for Penguins and Pelicans) are sourced through a reputable British supplier.In our catering division we are now buying all our milk from a local farm; and when shopping for foodstuffs and provisions for our Tortoiseshell cafe, locally-grown produce is selected in preference to imported produce.This week our chef, Graham, has started making delicious fresh, crab sandwiches for our visitors - these can be enjoyed with a cool, crisp glass of Sauvignon blanc (or fresh fruit juice) - in the knowledge that the crab has been bought from a local family-run business in Bembridge who sustainably source their produce from local Island waters.These are just a couple of examples of how each and every one of us can make a difference to the environment just by making small changes in our habits and buying patterns.Come in and enjoy a special sandwich with us soon!

Hi, I visited the Park on Tuesday with my Mum and it is the best place I have been to, the variety of animals is amazing. My favourite was the Penguins and my Mum's was the white Peacocks (she has not stopped talking about them since). The weather was quite wet but it meant the Park was quieter so we got to see a lot more. The staff were very helpful and kind. The talks were very good and meant we got chance to take pictures of all the animals (I don't think I've taken that many pictures before, there was so much to see). I love the way a lot of the animals were free to roam around the Park and the camera snap flaps were great. Thanks for the brilliant day out and I will definitely be recommending the Park to all my friends. Hope to see you soon on my next visit to Portsmouth. Here are a few pictures I took, and a combined picture as well.

Thursday, 10 June 2010

We were extremely pleased to welcome Isabel Barrett ((Fundraising and Development Officer) and Kathy Grogan (Forest Schools Leader) from the HIWWT (pictured above) who came to spend some time with us earlier today - at the Park and in the meadow next door. We spoke about the possibility of partnering each other in conservation and/or education projects - this was a preliminary meeting but there were lots of great ideas being ignited! We're looking forward to exploring some of the ideas further and hopefully to working more closely in the future. This comes with a big 'thank you' to both Issy and Kathy for their enthusiasm and their time!

Speaking of important meetings, next week we're looking forward to the arrival of The Isle of Wight's Lord Lieutenant, Martin White, at the Park. We're honoured at the Lord Lieutenant's expression of interest and look forward to welcoming both him and the Deputy Clerk to the Lieutenancy, Gillian Phenix, as our special guests.

Monday, 7 June 2010

Jonathan Drew sent through this photo of two of our adult Kookaburras(Dacelo navaguinae) - clearly showing our young Kookaburra chick still has a lot of growing to do!

The Kookaburra chick pictured below is being hand-reared by the Animal Care Team (we Blogged his arrival last week). To-date, we're pleased to announce that he's thriving! This image was taken earlier today and shows his mouth open (as it is much of the time) as he cackles or shrieks for food as soon as he hears anyone passing by! His feathers are coming through, his eyes are open and he's in good voice! We're continuing to feed him chopped raw chicken and tiny mincemeat balls (the male gender hasn't actually been confirmed!)

Although Kookaburras are members of the Kingfisher family, they rarely chase or catch fish. In the wild (in Australia) Kookaburras eat insects, mice and other small rodents, lizards, the young of other birds and snakes. They have adapted well to humans and are often seen perching on posts and wires looking for their natural food. They will also fly down for scraps of meat being thrown away at picnic grounds and barbecues - people in suburban areas often feed them in their gardens too.

We now have 2 pairs of adult Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens) - both bred at the Park - with broods of Goslings. We've moved both families from the open nesting area in the centre of the Park to an enclosure - where they'll be safe from predators such as Gulls, Rooks and Crows. They'll be returned to the open areas and will be free to come and go as they please once the youngsters' adult plumage has grown through. We hope that some will choose to return each year to nest and raise their Goslings with us in the future.

Friday, 4 June 2010

After a very busy three weeks spent cleaning out ducklings, feeding penguin chicks and generally getting her hands dirty, Vicky, our latest work expereince student who is studying at Sparsholt College, has to bid farewell to all her favourite characters here at Seaview Wildlife.

'As a student studying a degree in Animal Management and Applied Sciences part of our experience is to work in industry for a set period of time. It has been my pleasure to be able to spend three weeks here at Seaview Wildlife Encounter and have enjoyed every minute. Although the work is hard, I have found the experience completely worthwhile. How many people can say they have hand fed baby penguins and had a Meerkat sat on their lap?

The experience has taught me alot and has enhanced my understanding of animal care and husbandry. I would happily return again and would recommend a visit to this enchanting place!'

(A quote from Vicky about her experience as an 'Animal Keeper')

Speaking on behalf of all the keepers Vicky has been a great help especially over the busy half term period so a big thank you is owed to Vicky for all her hard work and we hope she comes back to visit us soon!

He's a very strange looking little creature ..... but we love him all the same! Resembling a Terradactyl or some other prehistoric bird, this Kookaburra chick has been rescued and is only a few days old.

One of our breeding pairs of Kookaburras have not got it right this year - for some reason they've been pushing their tiny chicks out of the nest prematurely - and obviously they've not survived - so we decided to pull the last of the brood from the nest and hand-rear it. So far the little chap is doing well - with a very strong pair of lungs to announce his almost insatiable appetite! There's no chance that the Animal Care Team could forget to feed him - just look at that for a wide, open mouth!

My intention, in due course, is to familiarise myself with some very basic video editing so that some of our Blog entries can be short video clips that include soundtracks - the accompanying acoustics with this one would be deafening!

Food at last! The little 'Kook' is being fed a mixture of raw chicken and beef mince every few hours.

This letter was kindly sent in from Marina & Stan Phipps from Longwell Green, Bristol. Each department received a copy of this letter - how wonderful that visitors take the time to sit down and write a positive letter of praise - letters like these really boosts staff moral and makes all the hard work worthwhile. Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Phipps for your positive up lifting letter." Dear Sirs,Just got back from our usual holiday this time on the Isle Of Wight. As I am now elderly and need a walker to assist me, we were wondering where to go suitable. The waitress suggested Flamingo Park. Oh - Flamingos, ducks, once seen - not keen. However, she said very pleasant to walk around & plenty of seats. Hey-ho, somewhere to go.But my golly we were delighted, Wow factor straight away on entering. So pleasant - the layout, the ducks, birds & animals, everything so interesting. Pleasant helpful staff. 1st class Cafe - everything.Outstanding hygiene and love and care for the animals and visitors alike. We stayed hours and hours and will visit again at a later date. Truly 5 star on every level. A credit and great asset to the Isle Of Wight.On relating such to other guests they visited and agreed. AMAZING."Thank you, Marina & Stan Phipps

"Nature Deficit Disorder" is a term recently used by American author Richard Louv to describe the deprivation brought about by insufficient contact with the natural environment. This sometimes results in mental illness and it is thought that children are particularly prone to this condition.

Here in the UK, GP and health advisor to Natural England Dr William Bird, produced a report last year re-iterating that contact with nature and green space has a positive effect on mental health, especially in children.

A lack of routine contact with nature may result in stunted academic and developmental growth. Our society is becoming more and more disconnected with nature. Louv says that we have entered a new era of suburban sprawl that restricts outdoor play, in conjunction with a plugged-in culture that draws kids indoors. Some children adapt to this disconnected way of life, but for the many who don't they develop symptoms of Nature Deficit Disorder which include attention problems, obesity, anxiety and depression.

These symptoms can be addressed by allowing children to connect with their natural environment - animals, birds and the outdoors - in safe, fun outdoor spaces such as Seaview Wildlife Encounter.

It is now widely agreed that connecting children with their natural environment helps prevent ill-health and promote healing. Being in touch with nature is a therapeutic treatment for many psychological ailments. It's far cheaper and healthier to join your children on regular walks in green places than resorting to pharmaceutical pills and prescriptions - and natural therapy is likely to be just as effective.

These three images of the Park and the adjoining meadow were taken this morning. They give an overview of the abundance of wild flowers that surround us at this time of year - particularly daisies, buttercups and clover. The image above shows a gaggle of geese with a view looking up towards the entrance to Seaview Wildlife.

The first of the images below shows a glimpse of the Lake at the bottom of the meadow that adjoins the Park - the water from this lake is intermittently pumped through to our 'Lower Lake' and continuously re-cycled and circulated around Park - cascading over beautiful waterfalls, down rocky waterways on its way. Being surrounded by water features, flowing rivulets, open stretches of lush grass and masses of wild flowers is a joy for Park visitors and livestock alike.

Next week we're meeting with representatives from the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) who are coming over from the mainland to meet with us. We'll be looking at opportunities for Seaview Wildlife Encounter and the HIWWT to work together on environmental and conservational issues beyond the boundaries of the Park. One of the topics on the agenda will be the wild flower meadow next door to the Park.

David Field, director of ZSL (London Zoo) said, during his recent visit to Seaview Wildlife, that the adjoining meadow area is a wonderful opportunity and obvious choice for partnering other organisations such as HIWWT in developing wildlife and environmental projects. The meadow (shown above) is owned by the Park and it is hoped that we may be able to offer this space for flora or fauna studies. Perhaps it could be used to promote environmental and sustainable awareness - encouraging other land-owners and farmers to leave some of their land fallow and uncultivated - thereby helping to restore and re-grow our natural environment- and the abundance of wildlife within it.